Raw Food part I

I realize the majority of you are thinking, “Wow, that sounds disgusting,” but hear me out! Since last year, I’ve been very interested in the raw food, or living foods diet. Basically it’s what it sounds like– you don’t eat anything that’s been heated above 104 degrees (this number varies), and typically stick to vegan, gluten free products. Some people go all out and are 100% raw, but I don’t like getting that strict with what I eat since I’d probably go crazy after 2 days, drive to Wendy’s and order two of everything. Also, I don’t tend to eat raw stuff in the winter, when all I want is hot noodle soups and things like that. (This all makes sense in light of the other dietary “thing” I sometimes adhere to, Ayurveda, but that is way too complicated to get into right now).

So does this mean eating salads and raw fruit all day long? Yes and no. If you are hardcore and own appliances like a dehydrator, a heavy-duty food processor and high-speed blender, you have many more options than those of us that don’t. With that stuff, it’s possible to make fake bread out of ground and dried nuts and seeds, all sorts of “burgers,” desserts, and so much more. So while I can’t get that fancy, I do at least have a small blender, so I can make things like smoothies and cold soups (think gazpacho). If you don’t mind spending a chunk of change at Whole Foods or your local natural food store, there are packaged versions of the “breads” and crap you can just buy and eat.

You will be eating a ton of fruits and veggies, but you can also have nuts, seeds, sprouted (or at least soaked) grains and legumes. Liberal amounts of good fat are added to meals so you really won’t find yourself getting hungry right away– from avocado to olive oil and yes, lots and lots of nuts, they really do make a difference. And besides the fact that you’ll be eating healthier by default, I’m not kidding when I say that the energy boost is intense. I can drink coffee and Red Bull all day long with NO effect, but eat a good sized batch of raw “noodles” and sun dried tomato sauce or raw chili and you can very literally feel the difference.

The biggest downsides are that it’s very, very time consuming. I remember last year I must have spent about an hour chopping a billion different fruits, blending some, measuring out all sorts of spices, only to be left with what was essentially a fancy fruit salad. It was GOOD, but someone like me does NOT have the time to be doing something like that all the time! Even the dishes that don’t take quite as much preparation always require some.

The other downside is that you have to buy a boatload of produce and hope you find time to use it all before it gets moldy. That or you can go to the grocery store every few days but again, not convenient for most people.

The answer for me is, like I said, not even trying to be 100% raw. I’ve been trying to do one raw meal with some raw snacks throughout the day. Once I graduate and have a *little* bit more time, maybe I’ll try ramping it up to two raw meals some days, but we’ll see.

And on that note, I’m going to stop typing about food because I won’t be home til about 11 and I’m already kind of peckish. :p